Alive
by Cocoon02
Summary: The world ended three years ago, and Hope Estheim is still trying to find his scattered friends. He's been working really hard, but will a few minutes of laziness give him what he's nearly worked himself to death for?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hi! So, this was requested by my friend WandererRonan and inspired by the song "Alive" by Adelitas Way. It's set post-LR, so if you don't know how it ends and don't want spoilers, you may want to check back with this later. (Which I definitely recommend doing ^_^).

Anywhoodle, let the story begin!

* * *

It had been three years now, since the end of the world, since the new one had been created. Perhaps the strangest thing about the new world, was that it seemed that it had always been there. Cities, technology, everything had already been there, waiting for the human race.

The people were very accepting of their new home, almost no one wished to be back in Nova Chrysalia, and those who did got over it pretty quickly. In all, everyone was content, happy to be alive, and making the most out of their second chance.

One man, however, could not quite count himself among their number.

Hope Estheim and his friends were separated when the new world was created. Though how scattered they were, he didn't know. He hadn't heard from or about them since they'd all teamed up to kill Bhunivelze. Which was pretty strange to think about.

However, he had been reunited with his parents, a miracle he'd hoped for but never dreamed would actually come true. That would have been beyond selfish, seeing as humanity had been facing extinction for the past thousand years. He lived through each and every year of it trying to make sure that didn't happen. Now? Now he had his parents back. He liked to think it was his reward for doing his part.

But even still. Lightning, Serah, Snow, Noel, Yeul, Sazh, Fang. Vanille. They were part of his family, too. And so, he spent most of his time searching for them. Traveling, following leads that unfortunately never led him anywhere. Every useless lead took a shot at his heart. At this point, it was only a few bullets from shattering. Years of no progress was taking it's toll.

But that wasn't all that was bothering him. As of the day before, he was now thirty years old.

Yes, thirty.

Despite being physically regressed back into his fourteen-year-old body, his soul was still technically twenty-seven. And so, he'd been reborn as an adult once again. Not that he was complaining, not at all, but if his understanding was correct, the oldest of his friends - aside from Sazh - was twenty-six. That made him second-oldest, a hard pill for him to swallow. It was just...so weird. His mother had made fun of him for worrying about it, but she didn't understand. When he'd met them, he'd been the youngest, the smallest, but he wasn't anymore. It was weird.

Hitting thirty years old had only strengthened his resolve to find them all. So, only a day later, he was chasing another lead that would probably only prove fruitless. His parents had practically begged him to stay put, to take a break, but he couldn't. Lightning and the others, he'd explained, were pieces of the past that he couldn't let remain broken. He had to bring them together.

He'd temporarily parked himself on a park bench, just to breathe for a minute. Something he'd learned since being free from the Ark: don't take anything for granted. The Ark had been mostly colorless, soundless, motionless, and he'd been completely alone for nearly two hundred years. The neighbors blasting bad music at two a.m. was annoying, his couch was more comfortable than his bed, car exhaust stunk like hell, but he loved it all. You start to miss the little things when they're taken from you.

It was a nice little community park. The playground equipment was some distance to his left, and there was another set behind him. Children were shouting and just being loud in general, dogs were barking back and forth as they were being walked. Joggers avoided said dogs along the path. It was a little warm for his taste, but a breeze blew on occasion, helping the heat.

A fight broke out between a few of the kids and his thoughts jumped to Snow and Serah. He wondered if they had gotten married yet, assuming they were together, or if Snow wanted to get them all together first. It wouldn't surprise him. That sounded like something Snow would do. Next he wondered if Lightning had found Serah. He hoped so. They had been through so much, getting ripped away from each other over and over. They had been temporarily reunited before the end of the world, but there was no way to know if they were together now. At least he knew she was reborn, thanks to Vanille.

How many people had been reunited with their loved ones thanks to Vanille? Him, for one. His parents had died a _long_ time ago, and wouldn't have come back if it weren't for her. He'd have to remember to thank her if - no, _when_ - he found her. He felt a great surge of joy whenever he imagined finally finding her, greater than anything he'd ever felt before. He didn't quite understand it, but he knew that he had to find her. He couldn't bear it if he didn't. If he knew if she was with Fang, though, it would be easier to have patience. He hoped Fang was there for her, Vanille hated being alone.

So did Yeul, Lightning had told him, if his memory was worth anything. He could only cross his fingers that Noel was with her. He knew Noel loved her deeply. He'd been willing to kill Lightning to be with her, but didn't because he knew she wouldn't want him to. He'd been willing to die so that she could live, though thankfully that didn't happen. finally free from her curse, Noel's Yeul was the only one reborn. All the others had stayed behind with Caius, to take Lightning's place.

For just a moment, he thought he saw Dajh on the playground. But he was wrong. How old would he be now? Twelve? Ish? Something like that. He and Sazh had better not have been separated, that would just be cruel. Though, the universe didn't care much about kindness. As much of a pun as it was, all he could do was hope.

A dog barked somewhere along the path. A car honked at a jaywalker. Wiping his hair from his eyes, which the wind promptly replaced, he glanced down at his watch. He should get going.

A tattered leaf was being dragged along the paved path by the wind. It got caught in the gap between squares before being blown into the grass. Someone jogged past him. The dog - he assumed it was the same dog - barked again.

He really should get going.

That dog must've been chasing something, because it sounded excited. ...Was it getting closer? He glanced around to find it, but there were five or six candidates, so he looked back down at his watch. Had it been five minutes already?

He sighed and ran his fingers through his silver hair, it really was hot out. Well, he had work to do, it was about time he actually got up.

He didn't get the chance. Just as he was about to finally get moving, he was pushed back onto the bench by a big chocolate lab.

"Bhakti, stop!"

As the dog's rough tongue attacked his face, Hope's insides became a hot, sour mess. Could it really be...?

"Get down!" The girl tugged at her dog a few times before he obeyed. Off of him, the dog proceeded to wag it's tail against his leg.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The girl apologized as Hope began wiping slobber off his face. "He's not usually-" She cut herself off and paused. "Hope?"

It really was her. His heart began unfamiliar acrobatics as he replied, "Hey, Vanille."

He heard a squeal of delight and the next thing he knew, he was trapped in her warm embrace. "I've missed you so much!" She cried.

He could not explain how wonderful it was to hear her voice again, to feel her touch. He couldn't come up with a response, so he just hugged her back, something he'd never done before.

She squeezed him extra tight before falling onto the bench next to him. He didn't want to let go, but he did. She flashed her brilliant smile, and he could've lost himself in her green eyes. In fact, he almost did and nearly missed her question.

"Where have you been?"

He chuckled. "In all the wrong placed, apparently. It's so good to see you."

Her dog barked for the umpteenth time, and Vanille said, "Oh, hush, Bhakti."

He hadn't put it together before, but now the image of a run-down robot formed in Hope's mind. He smirked. "Bhakti, huh?"

Vanille blushed a little, "Yeah, well - oh, he ruined your shirt!"

Hope looked down, and sure enough, his white t-shirt had spots of mud all over it, shaped suspiciously like paw prints. Normally, he might have been a little peeved, but at the present moment, he really could not care less. He shrugged. "It's just wet dirt. Uh..." He tried not to laugh. "You got some on your shirt, too."

Vanille glanced down at her muddied clothing and sighed. "Oh, Bhakti, you silly boy." The lab simply panted.

Watching her lightly chastise her smelly dog, Hope couldn't help but notice how absolutely gorgeous she was.

_"Stop it." _He told himself.

"So," He began, "The others, I mean, do you...?"

"Know where they are?" Vanille finished. "Yup, well some of them. Serah and Snow live here, and Lightning too. We've been trying to find you guys, though we haven't been very successful. Snow think's he might've found Noel, but..."

She kept talking, but Hope barely heard her. He felt like laughing. They'd been searching for him, too. He felt a great weight come off of his heart, the bullet wounds healing. He'd found her. On accident, at that. And not just her, but the infamous trio as well. He couldn't believe it.

Vanille gave him a funny look. "What?"

"What?"

"You're smiling ear to ear. What's up?"

Hope did laugh that time. "It's just...I've been looking for you all for so long, and here you are. It seems too good to be true."

"Well, you know what they say." She joked.

"Don't jinx it, I'm not letting you go again." He replied.

Vanille nearly froze, and her cheeks slowly began to match her hair. Hope didn't understand at first, but then it hit him and his face surely looked just as red as hers. He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Uh, I mean..."

Bhakti ruined the moment - thank goodness - by barking yet again. He rubbed his wet black nose on Vanille's pants and whined.

"What is it, boy?" She crooned, petting the top of his head. He turned his head and pointed with his muzzle. "Oh!" She looked up at Hope. "Do you know what time it is?"

He went to read his watch, but she grabbed his wrist and looked for herself. She gave a small gasp and said, "I've gotta go!"

Bhakti got really excited as she said goodbye and began to walk away. Hope found himself on his feet as well, wanting to call her back, but the words were stuck in his throat. She couldn't just leave, not now.

After a few seconds, Vanille stopped in her tracks and turned back to him, smiling. "Hope, come with me."

His feet took him to her side before he could think about it. He really wasn't concerned about where she was taking him, he was just glad to be with her.

"Snow and the others are coming over soon." She explained, practically skipping along the path with excitement. "We can surprise them, it'll be fun!"

"Sounds good to me." Hope replied. He hadn't actually spoken to Snow or Serah in hundreds of years, and hadn't spoken to Lightning as himself for even longer. He sincerely hoped Vanille hadn't jinxed this, because this was shaping up to be one of the best days he'd had in a long, long time.

On the way to her place, Vanille told him about some of the things he'd missed. Snow and Serah hadn't been separated from each other, just everyone else. Together, they'd found Lightning in the first six months. Vanille herself had been alone at first, but managed to get by until she ran into Serah in the grocery store of all places. She told him about Snow's system for tracking them down, which involved a lot of contacts he'd had back in Yusnaan. He hadn't had much success yet, but had some very reliably information on where Noel probably was. She expressed her hope that Noel and Yeul were together, and Hope expressed his agreement on that subject, though he mostly listened. Bhakti calmed down significantly the closer they got to their destination.

It took about fifteen minutes to get to Vanille's place. She lived on the second floor of a five-story apartment building, in which nearly everyone owned a pet of some kind. Vanille fought with the lock on her door for a few seconds before getting it open. As soon as she unhooked Bhakti's leash from his collar, he ran inside, disappearing down the short hallway.

"Home sweet home." Vanille said, heading inside as well. Hope followed her, closing the door behind him. Vanille gestured to the majority of her apartment. "Whaddya think?" She asked.

Her place was pretty neat considering the size of her dog. Her furniture didn't quite match and was well-worn. There was a large window to his left that took up most of one wall, at the bottom of which was a messy pile of blankets, probably Bhakti's bed. To his right, her kitchen was debatably organized, managing to look used but not out of control. It felt like a home.

"Smells like dog." He replied.

Vanille rolled her eyes at him and put the leash away. He chuckled. "Come on, I was joking."

"I know," She smirked, "doesn't make you any less annoying."

"I have to say, Vanille, I'm offended."

"Oh, really?"

"Very much."

Bhakti came back in from wherever it was he'd been. He trotted around, sniffed at their shoes. The chocolate lab took a seat by some bowls on the floor - his - and whined.

"You know you don't eat for another hour." Vanille said to him. "Get."

The dog whined again, and walked sadly over to his blankets, plopped down, and stared dramatically out the window.

"He's such a big baby." Vanille said to Hope. "He'll get over it."

Just then, a chime sounded from somewhere. Vanille pulled out a phone from her pocket and messed with it for a few seconds. "They're on their way." She informed him. She tugged on the hem of her shirt and added, "We should probably clean up."

* * *

**And, scene! I hope you enjoyed it, because there's more where this came from! If you didn't, then *shrugs* you don't have to come back.**

**But on the off chance that you _did_, why don't you go ahead and leave a review telling me what you liked about it? Stay tuned for more! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Hello! :) See? Told you there'd be more. And after this? There will be more still. I don't know how long this is going to go on, but I don't foresee an end within the next chapter or two.

We'll just see where the story leads us.

* * *

Hope's shirt was beyond hope, but as he had nothing else to wear, he had to put it back on. They'd gotten most of the mud out, but some of it just refused to go. Vanille had it easy, she just put on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean baby-blue t-shirt. She nearly bounced out of her room as Hope was attempting to dry off the wet fabric of his shirt. Which was awkward as he wasn't...actually...wearing, his shirt at the time.

"Oh!" She cried, face a tomato's twin at the sight of his bare torso. Hope swiftly put his mostly dry shirt back on. He subconsciously tugged at the bottom, to reassure himself that it was actually on. "Uh, sorry." He said quickly.

"No, no, I should've, I-" A knock on the door stopped Vanille's words, and Bhakti ran over to sniff at the cracks between the door and the frame. She hastily went to it and turned the handle.

In mere seconds, Hope would be reunited with more of his lost friends. It both excited, and for some reason, scared him. He held his breath as Vanille opened the door.

"Hey, Vanille!" Came Serah's voice, then a laugh, "What's the matter?"

If it was possible, Vanille's face reddened even more. She brushed some hair behind her ear and said, "N-nothing, come in."

Hope leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, as casually as he could. The looks on their faces were priceless.

"Hope!" Serah cried, running forward to trap him in a hug, as Snow said, "Would you look at that." Lightning simply smiled.

Serah released him and turned to Vanille. "Where did you find him?"

"Well, I didn't." She replied. "Not really, Bhakti did."

The dog wove his way among them excitedly, and gave a small bark at his name.

Lightning looked from Hope to Vanille and back. She said, "Did we interrupt something?"

"No." They said in unison.

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Right."

"No, really, Light-" Hope began.

Snow came over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Long time no see, kid, how are you?"

"Aside from being older than you, I'm fine." Hope said with a smirk.

"Older than me? That's funny."

"No, really." Hope insisted. "I turned thirty yesterday."

Snow raised his eyebrows. "Damn, never mind."

"Thirty? Really, Hope?" Serah asked.

"Yeah."

"Not to mention a couple hundred years." Lightning added.

"Why, Light, was that a _joke_?" Hope teased.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me, Mr. Smartypants?"

"Oh, guys." Vanille sighed, her face almost back to it's proper color.

Hope couldn't help but smile. Pointless squabbling, poking fun, he missed this. Snow was cheerful again, Serah was alive. Lightning was _smiling_. Up until now, he'd only imagined this.

"Mm." Lightning elbowed Snow in the side. "Hey Hero, didn't we have something to discuss?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Snow put his hands together and said, "So, Noel. Normally, I'd go check out the info, but I can't make it this time. Someone else will have to take up the torch on this one."

"I'll go!" Vanille volunteered.

"Vanille, you know you can't afford to go." Lightning said.

Several people began talking at once.

Without permission, four words crawled out of Hope's mouth. "I'll go with her."

They all turned to him, and Serah said, "Really?" Vanille's face held a hopeful expression.

He had about .5 seconds to decide if he was committed to a decision that he had apparently already made. He shrugged. "Sure. I mean, we're not going to talk her out of it, and I want to find Noel, too."

Vanille practically launched forward to hug him, saying, "Thank you!" Hope placed a hand on her back as a way of returning the hug. "No problem."

Lightning had this look in her eyes, a look that he knew well. Something between amusement and accusation. He made eye contact with her and hoped his face wasn't as colored as it felt.

"Alright love birds, come on." Snow teased.

Vanille backed off, looking embarrassed. They probably looked like two kids caught in the act of doing something they weren't supposed to.

"So, uh, what's the plan?" Hope asked quickly.

* * *

Hope stood at the edge of the sidewalk, bag at his feet, waiting for Serah and Vanille to come get him. He'd only been standing there for a few minutes, but he was beginning to grow impatient. He was used to handling transportation by himself, not relying on others. He told himself to just get over it, but he couldn't help drumming on his legs.

At some point, he started counting how many people walked past him. He checked his watch every few people. At five, he wondered if he heard Serah right about the time. At nine, he took a mental inventory of the things in his bag. At thirteen, Serah's silver car finally pulled up.

She and Vanille waved at him from the front seats as he slung his bag over his shoulder and hopped in the back. He poked his head between the two seats and said, "Hi."

"You ready?" Serah asked.

"Only since I woke up." Hope replied. "Not that I slept much."

"Excited?" Vanille said.

"Well, yeah. Noel and I got really close those few hundred years before I disappeared. It'll be good to see him again."

"_If_ he's there." Serah reminded him, pulling away from the curb.

"C'mon, Serah. Where's your optimism?"

"Honestly, I didn't think I had any left until you showed up." She admitted. "Now backle up and don't distract the driver."

Hope obeyed, but not before mockingly rolling his eyes and smiling at Vanille, who giggled.

Serah dropped them off at the station with motherly warnings of safety and wished for success. Hope found it a bit difficult to say goodbye to her, the whole situation still seemed too unreal. Like a dream he wasn't entirely aware of. But maybe that was because he'd almost given up hope until now.

He insisted on carrying both his and Vanille's bags, which she agreed to. But in return, she insisted on handling everything else, which he didn't argue with. There would have been no point.

About fifteen minutes before the train was supposed to leave, they were aboard. It was crowded and noisy. Many of the other passengers were arguing amongst themselves. But they were going to have to get used to it; they were going to be riding this train until very early in the morning.

Vanille called the window seat, and Hope stowed their bags on the rack above their heads before taking the remaining seat. They watched the people on the platform for a few minutes. Employees rushed around, others pushed each other on the way to their destinations. The way people moved around each other, stepping one way or another way to avoid collision without calculation or thought, that was something Hope had always found interesting. Unconscious movement. Body language. He had been told a few times that he hardly had any, that he was stiff as a board. So he'd begun watching people. Only he didn't usually notice, only in instances like this.

"Do you...do you think we'll find him?" And Yeul?" Vanille suddenly asked.

"Well, Snow seemed pretty optimistic. Not that that's saying much." He half-joked. "But, if we don't this time, it increases the chance that we will the next time."

"Yeah? By how much?"

Hope turned toward her. "You want me to calculate it?"

Vanille smirked. "Well, you are the smart one."

"Well then, I'd have to say a number between sooner or later. I'd narrow it down, but that would require math."

Vanille rolled her eyes playfully and shoved him. "I'm serious. Do you think we'll find him?"

Hope resituated himself and said, "I certainly hope so. Not that he can't take care of himself, but I'd feel better knowing he was okay; and if I knew if he was with Yeul."

Vanille stared at the ground for a few seconds as shouting began outside, a time warning. "He loves her, doesn't he."

He wasn't sure if that was a statement or a question. But either way, he was going to answer her. "Yes. I don't think he ever said it straight out, but he's proved it numerous times. From what he told me about their past, I think he always has."

Vanille nodded. Something about the way she tensed made him think she was nervous about something, though what was beyond him. She turned her head to look out the window. "Hope..."

"Excuse me." Said a voice as the hand it belonged to tapped him on the shoulder. Hope turned to see an elderly woman. "I hate to bother you," She continued, "but could you help me?"

Hope nodded. "Of course."

The woman needed help getting her suitcase under her seat. It was packed just full enough that it wouldn't fit smoothly, but not too full that it wouldn't fit at all. All it required was a good shove. It took less than a minute to do.

"Thank you." The woman said as Hope returned to his seat.

"You're welcome." He replied.

Vanille had returned to staring out the window, but something was different this time. In the few seconds Hope had spent helping the elderly woman, the air between them had grown thick with a kind of...awkwardness. It left him with a loss for words, so he ended up just staring at her, trying to come up with something to say. He never had been good at talking to people, especially girls, which really wasn't helping.

Had he done something? He didn't think so. What was causing this invisible wall? Maybe... She'd been about to say something, what had that been? What could it have been that would cause the air to thicken because it wasn't spoken? He hadn't the foggiest.

The train gave a lurch as it finally started forward. A loud squealing sound indicated that the wheels were beginning their work, and soon the platform and the station were behind them. It would be several hours before they got off, in fact they wouldn't get off until very early in the morning. They couldn't sit like this the _entire_ time. She had to talk to him at some point.

So he decided to just wait until she felt like talking. Anything he said probably wouldn't help, anyway. He laced his fingers together and stared at the floor, mind wandering in a thousand different directions, but always coming back to Vanille. He still couldn't believe it. He kept waiting for something to happen, for this all to be a dream. But it wasn't. It wasn't a dream. And that was the funny part. For the first time in a millennia, he and Vanille could finally just _talk_, and she wasn't speaking to him. Which was strange enough in itself, because she wasn't the silent type.

After about an hour, he just couldn't stand the silence anymore. (Not counting the chatter of the other passengers) He took a breath and said, "Vanille?"

She turned slowly, as if coming out of a trance. "Hm?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry." She said, shaking her head. "I was just thinking."

His lips threatened to smile, though it was really not the time. "About what, something complicated?"

Vanille let out a laugh. That was more like it. "Actually, yes."

_Now_ he smiled. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Mmm, not yet." Vanille smiled back at him. "Maybe someday."

* * *

_"I-it makes me happy when you smile."_

* * *

The flashback sent Hope's heart into his throat. It beat loudly in his ears, and he sincerely hoped she couldn't hear. "If something's bothering you, you can tell me. You know you can trust me, right?"

"I know."

* * *

**There you have it, chapter two. For better or for worse, it exists, and if you are reading this, you have read it. To reiterate, this is not the end! The next chapter is now under construction.**

**So which was it guys, better or worse?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** And the story continues! I'm enjoying it, personally, and I'm glad to see that you guys are, too. I'm particularly interested in hearing your thoughts about this chapter...

But you have to read it first!

* * *

Hope woke around...four in the morning. While he was still between consciousness and unconsciousness, he became aware of Vanille's head on his shoulder. He drowsily turned his own head until his cheek rested against her forehead. He vaguely debated moving, but didn't for two reasons: one, he didn't want to wake her, and two, it was nice to lie there like that.

He watched the terrain gallop by through the window, a blur of hills and trees. It was hypnotizing, and after a few minutes, began to lull him back to sleep.

But before he could sleep again, a clap of thunder rumbled deep as the ocean. It snapped him out of his trance, and he noticed the blanket of nearly black clouds that was beginning to cover the sky. Fantastic. Vanille stirred beneath him and he sat up so he wasn't leaning on her anymore. She yawned and sort-of stretched before rubbing her eyes like a sleepy child.

"Hey." He said softly.

Vanille groaned and looked up at him. "What time is it?" She asked.

It was difficult to read his watch with the little light quickly fading, but he eventually made out, "Four seventeen."

She seemed a bit torn between lying back down and not bothering to do so. She leaned forward to look across the isle at the elderly woman and her husband, who were still sleeping. She sat back in her seat and asked quietly, "How long till we get there?"

"About an hour or so."

Vanille glanced out the window just as thunder grumbled again. Lightning flashed, though no bolt could be seen, and neither was there rain. Vanille hugged herself tight and said, "I hate storms."

Hope cocked his head. "Not a fan of thunder?"

"No, I _love_ thunder." She replied. "It's the lightning." She looked up at him. "When I was really little, there was this storm. Not a bad one, but Fang still told me to stay away from the windows." Vanille took a slow breath. "Right before bedtime, lightning struck the windmill. You could feel it in the air. Like we'd all been shocked. But then, there was this awful screeching. The blades were ripping away from the tower. When they crashed on the ground it was so loud you couldn't hear the thunder." She shuddered. "That's why I don't like storms."

A few miniature droplets of rain pattered onto the window and clung there. The storm clouds completely dominated the sky now. Hope said, "Did I ever tell you why my mother named me Hope?"

Another flash. Vanille focused on his face, accepting his story as a distraction. "No, you haven't."

"Well," He began, "I was born early. I think my mom said I was only...four pounds? She said I was only expected to live a few days, if I was lucky. All she could do was, well, hope."

"So, she named you Hope because you lived?"

He shrugged. "Basically. I hated it when I was a kid, everyone made fun of me for having a girls' name. But by the time we met, I didn't mind it so much."

Vanille smiled. "I like it. It's, unique."

Hope tried not to laugh because he didn't want to wake anyone else. "Only because I'm a guy."

"So?"

He shook his head in amusement.

The rest of the trip was spent quietly telling stories while the storm grew outside. The rest of the passengers woke up as the time passed, and by the time the train hissed and lurched to a stop, everybody was more than ready to get off.

It was raining pretty hard by the time Hope and Vanille piled out of the train and into the station with everyone else. Hope, now experienced in hitching a ride, managed to get them a cab while most others were still taking roll of their families. He gave their destination and off they went. It was nearly six o'clock when they reached their hotel.

Climbing up to the third floor - Hope took one look and the shady-looking elevator and declared it a death trap - they headed for separate doors. However, it was only a door that separated them, as their rooms were connected.

They'd decided before hand to catch up on their sleep, as it was still early in the morning, and the storm wasn't letting up, just gradually getting worse. Hope assumed that Vanille went straight to sleep, but he hopped in the shower. Despite the generous washing the clouds had given him, he preferred to clean himself off. About twenty minutes later, clean, refreshed, and tired, he allowed himself to collapse into bed.

* * *

Hope jolted awake.

It was impossible to tell how much time had passed without looking at the clock, but the storm was still complaining outside. He rubbed his eyes as one does before allowing themselves to wake, but rolled onto his other side to sleep once again.

"_No_!"

Vanille's cry stripped away some of his drowsiness. He'd barely heard her through the walls, but she sounded scared. Thunder. Lightning. After a couple of seconds, he thought that maybe that was what had frightened her. After all, she had expressed her dislike for lightning.

When no further cries were heard, he nestled himself back into the little cocoon of warmth the blankets made. She was fine, and he was still tired. He squirmed a bit on the slightly uncomfortable mattress, trying to make it conform to the way he wanted to sleep. It just wasn't having it. The rain pounded loudly against the window, and he began to wonder how he got to sleep in the first place.

After several minutes of struggling to fall back asleep, Vanille screamed again.

But this time was different.

This time she produced a scream of utter despair, and he had no problem hearing it. Something was wrong. Hope jumped out of bed and made a beeline for the connecting door. He had trouble getting the old lock to obey, but that only lasted a few seconds.

Vanille was sitting curled up in her bed, head clutched tightly in her hands. The was visibly shaking and moaning incomprehensible words. Hope was afraid that physical contact would startle her further, but he felt he had no choice. He carefully sat beside her, and touched her shoulder.

She jumped about a mile and shrunk from his touch. She cowered on the other side of the bed.

"Vanille, it's okay..." Hope said softly. "It's just me."

She turned to him, her breathing uneven and choppy. She looked at him, though for several seconds it seemed like she didn't even see him. Then she began to cry.

"I-I'm sorry." She sobbed.

"No, it's okay, you're fine." He assured her.

"I-" And nothing more could be understood.

Hope went to her and held her close as she cried. She trembled against him and clung to the fabric of his shirt. He gently ran a hand up and down her back and began to hum a little tune. One soft and slow, something he'd made up when he was younger that never left him. The melody had always had a calming effect on him, and he hoped it would help her forget - at least for a little while - whatever was troubling her.

He could tell that she was trying to calm down by the number of times she held her breath. Her violent shudders after doing so became less frequent as her breathing slower. She began to relax against him.

After a few minutes, when Hope felt that she wouldn't break again, he stopped singing. "...Are you alright?" He asked carefully.

He felt Vanille nod against his chest before she separated herself from him, just enough to look up at him. Her face and eyes were red from the tears, and he still felt her involuntary shaking as thunder rumbled from somewhere far away. "I'm fine, I'm sorry."

Hope cupped her face in his hand, and swept some loose hairs away from her eyes with his thumb. "What happened?"

"I-" She sighed. "The dead. They speak to me."

Hope stiffened in surprise. "Even still? After everything that happened?"

"No, no." She said. "Not like that." Vanille took his hand from her face and held it in hers. "I just, hear them, how I remember them, in my dreams." She shook her head. "Sometimes, I see them. But every time, they...they scream at me, blame me for...I don't even know. Everything. They get louder, and nearer, until they are everything, and I can't... You saw what happens."

"Vanille..."

"I used to have them all the time, but now, the dreams usually only come when I'm alone. Normally, Bhakti's with me, but I wasn't even thinking about here."

Hope squeezed her hand. "I can be your dog here, if you want." He didn't entirely realize what he'd said, not even when she bowed her head in what he didn't perceive as mild embarrassment.

"I - I'd like that." She said.

* * *

**Before somebody says something, yes, this one was shorter than the other two. Well, that's because as I was typing, I decided to end it here instead of where I originally planned. Because I can.**

**And yes, Hope is really dumb when he's half-asleep. :)**

**So, what did you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

As a temporary replacement for her loyal companion, Hope didn't leave Vanille. He stayed with her as she tried to control her shaking. She said that was always the worst part: the shaking. To distract herself from her dream, she asked him to teach her his song.

He did, well, tried. She learned the first couple notes, but got lost as his little song went on. He kept repeating, and she kept messing up. Eventually, she burst out in a fit of giggles.

"I give up!" She said. "I can't sing, anyway."

"What are you talking about? _I'm_ the one who can't sing." Hope insisted. "You're just fine."

"Whatever. You should hear Fang!"

The comment on the eldest Pulsian caused Hope to laugh, but Vanille quieted.

Hope stopped laughing as well. Fang was Vanille's best and only friend for a long time, and now there was no sign of her. Maybe it was time to change the subject...

"Hey, it's almost time to get going. You ready to see Noel?"

Vanille smiled up at him. "Yup. You know, I've never properly met him, but I feel like I've known him forever."

"He's a good guy. I haven't seen him since..." Hope trailed off. "I, uh, I guess the last time I saw him I wasn't really...me."

Vanille shuddered. "Do you, remember any of that?"

Vague, fuzzy images of Lightning and even more distant images of the rest of them presented themselves to him. No feelings. "Sort of. I don't remember anything specifically, just images, faces. Mostly Lightning."

"At least she's a friendly face, right?"

Hope chuckled. "Friendly" and "Lightning" were two words that usually didn't appear in the same context. "Yeah, I suppose." He smacked the blankets with his palms and bounced backwards onto his feet. "I'd better go."

"Go where?"

Hope smirked, "You don't want me to watch you get dressed, do you?" Besides, I gotta change too." He nodded towards the connecting door. "Just come get me when you're ready."

Vanille smiled at the prospect of fitting in a few more pieces of their family puzzle. Goddess, she really shined whan she smiled. "We're really doing it, aren't we? We're bringing everyone back together."

"_If_ he's there." Hope reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "Your glass is half empty, isn't it?"

"Only when I drink from it." He replied. "Get dressed, we have hunting to do."

* * *

It was hot again that day. Add that to the rain from the storm, and the air was practically solid. It was uncomfortable to breathe, and Hope felt filthy after only seconds in the air, but there was honestly way more important things bothering him.

The past couple of days were more than he'd ever dreamed. He'd hoped he'd find his friends, sure, but before he ran into Vanille - or rather, before Bhakti ran into him - he'd started to lose faith that he would. Now he was reunited with Vanille, Light, Serah, Snow, and quite possibly Noel and Yeul. It seemed like a dream.

Something funny about his dreams, they tended not to end very well.

His father suggested that his bad dreams were his mind's way of processing everything that had happened. "Well, damn," He'd replied, "I've got a millennia-long string of unfavorable outcomes to work through, then."

But no, this was real. Dreams weren't this long. They weren't this vivid. They were really doing it.

He chuckled out loud, and Vanille smiled at him. "What?"

"I just keep reminding myself that this is real. I'm actually here with you, and we're actually going to find Noel. Snow actually sent us out to do this, and Serah and Light are actually back there with him. It's just been so long since I've seen anyone in real life, that I have to keep reminding myself that I'm alive." He shook his head. "I probably sound crazy."

"No!" Vanille insisted. "I feel the same way. I guess that we've been trying to save the world for so long, that peace feels like a trick."

"Black and white are just more shades of grey..." Hope murmured.

Hope was stopped by Vanille's arm across his chest. He'd reached the edge of the sidewalk without even knowing it. Two more steps and he probably would've been run over. He backed up. "Thanks."

"You need to pay more attention, mister." She teased.

"As a man, my attention span is about as short as yours is long." He joked back.

Vanille laughed as a car slowed to a stop and waved them across. They took the opportunity and were soon on the other side of the street. Hope took note of the number and came to the conclusion that they were close.

"Shouldn't be far now." He commented.

Snow's contact had found - possibly found - Noel at his workplace. It was a car repair shop of all things. He couldn't recall if Noel had any mechanical expertise, but he could've picked up some skills in the past five hundred years. He followed the organized street identification system to the correct address while Vanille chattered away happily beside him. She was overly excited despite his repeated reminders not to get her hopes up.

He was beginning to think that his glass really was half empty.

They reached the shop, over which hung a sign that simply read "Repairs". Absolutely _brilliant_ advertising. They walked in through the large open garage-type door, and the first thing they heard was someone dropping their tools, resulting in a large metallic _clang_.

Vanille flinched.

"You blockhead, pick it up!" Someone shouted. That someone appeared to be the boss, because the man who dropped his tools immediately shrunk and began to gather them back into their box.

"Hey!" Hope called. The boss looked over to see who had the audacity to yell at him, and dropped most of his grumpy expression when he saw that Hope wasn't one of his employees.

He walked over to them with an air of superiority. "What can I do for ya?" He asked almost politely.

"We're looking for a guy named Noel Kreiss." Hope replied. "Know him?"

The boss thought for a moment. "'bout your height, brown hair, kinda scrawny?"

Scrawny wasn't a word Hope would usually use to describe his friend, but compared to this guy, yes. "That's him. Know where he is?"

"Gimme a minute." He stalked toward a door at the back of the shop and shouted, "Kreiss! some people here lookin' for ya!" And with that, he went back to scolding the man who'd dropped his tools.

It didn't take long before the familiar face of their time-travelling friend appeared through the door. Vanille gripped Hope's arm in excitement. "It's him!"

"Yeah." He almost laughed, feeling an immense amount of relief. Maybe, for once, things would work out for their dysfunctional family. "Noel!" He shouted.

The hunter glanced around, and hope saw his face light up from across the shop. He jogged over to them, hopping over people's legs and various car parts scattered on the floor. He was smiling like an idiot.

"Is it really you? Or are these fumes getting to me?" He laughed.

Hope laughed as well and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Nope. It's really us."

Noel pulled him into a quick but meaningful guy hug. He then turned to Vanille. "You're Vanille right?" He asked. "The 'saint'?"

"I never understood why they called me that." She told him. "All I did was listen to the dead."

Noel shrugged. "People need something to believe in. You were their something." He but his hands on his hips. "So, how'd you guys find me?"

"_We _didn't." Hope explained. "Snow did."

Noel chuckled. "Why am I not surprised? Even though he's got Serah, he can't stop looking." Suddenly, he looked a little concerned. "He _has_ got Serah, right? She's okay?"

"She's fine." Vanille assured him. "She's with Snow and Lightning."

The concern melted from Noel's face. "Good. I've been worried about her. Guess it's the guardian in me."

Hope's eyes unconsciously flicked to Vanille, then back to Noel. "I know what you mean."

Noel noticed his eye movement. He looked from Vanille to Hope, then raised an eyebrow.

Hope seriously hoped that his embarrassment wasn't showing.

"Noel," Vanille started, "is, Yeul with you?"

Noel broke out in an enormous grin. "Yeah. She is. She's alive and she's free." He laughed like he was slightly amused by the idea. "She's eighteen now. No Yeul ever lived that long."

Two more of their scattered puzzle pieces fell into place. Hope still felt that this was too good to be true, but that was just his glass emptying again. This was happening. They were alive.

"It almost feels good to age at this point, huh?" He said.

"Yeah." Noel agreed. "It's stupid, but it feels great to finally be older than eighteen."

Math. "Twenty-one, right?"

"And proud of it."

"You're still younger than me." Vanille teased.

"Well, you're _both_ younger than me." Hope pointed out.

"Kreiss!"

Noel turned and gestured to his boss. "Hold on." He said to them. He walked over to one of the carts lined up along the wall. He seemed to be writing something down for a few seconds before returning, handing Hope a piece of paper.

"Why don't you come by around five?" He suggested. "You can see Yeul, and we can catch up."

"Definitely!" Vanille exclaimed.

Hope nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

**Yay, Noel! *clears throat* Er, yeah. _Anyway_, did anyone catch that Hope was singing his (original) theme to Vanille? You probably did, but if you didn't...now you know! **

**I'm really excited for the next chapter! Is anyone else excited? I'm excited.**

**You could always...you know...let me know. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **So, what's it been, a month? Yeah... Sorry about that. My muse kinda died, and then I started another story (called Hope's Howl, you should check it out), so progress on this chapter slowed almost to a standstill. But hey, here we are!

I apologize beforehand, I feel like this chapter - especially toward the end - is pretty iffy. But I'm posting it anyway. I'll rewrite it if necessary, so if I see that people agree with me, then I will. But if you guys think it's fine, then I'll leave it. It's your call.

Anyway, here we go!

* * *

Hope and Vanille went back to their hotel and immediately called Snow to report. Except that he didn't pick up, Serah did.

_"Hello?"_ She answered.

"Oh, hey, Serah." Hope said. "Where's Snow?"

_"I made him take Vanille's dog out. He's a little too hyper for me." _She explained. _"What's up?"_

"Well..." He stalled.

_"Hope."_

Hope laughed, and Vanille rolled her eyes at him. She was sitting next to him, they were on his bed this time. She hit him in the side with his own pillow. "Just tell her!"

He fell sideways and said, "I will! Stop hitting me!"

_"Hope, what's going on?"_

"Nothing." He replied, blocking another pillow assault. "But we found Noel."

He could practically hear her jumping with excitement. In fact, she probably did, because she sounded slightly out of breath when she next spoke. _"That's amazing! How is he?"_

"He's fine." Hope assured her. "He's with Yeul."

_"Really? That's good, she needs him. Oh, Claire, it was Noel. Yeul's with him, too."_

Hope couldn't hear Lightning's response, but Serah replied with, _"Yeah."_

It was a little awkward sitting there silently holding his phone to his ear. He laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, eyes tracing the swirling patterns. It looked like someone had taken a feather and twisted it in random places in the paint. He glanced at Vanille, who raised an eyebrow. He shrugged.

_"Hey, Hope."_

Hope sat back up and said, "Hey, Light."

_"So, you found him, huh?"_

"Yeah. We're going to see him and Yeul later."

_"That's great. It's...been a while, hasn't it?"_

"Too long." He agreed. He wasn't sure what, but something seemed - or sounded - off. "Light, is something wrong?"

_"Why do you ask?"_

"Because I know you, Light."

He heard a barely audible sigh. _"It's just... It's been so long since I've heard, the real you, that I..."_

Hope's fingers subconsciously gripped at the covers. "I understand. And, I'm sorry."

_"What do you have to be sorry for? You didn't do anything."_

"I'm sorry that, well, that my body...that I..." Vanille's slim fingers gently held onto his shoulder.

_"No, Hope, that wasn't you. Don't get me wrong, when I figured that out, I was devastated. At least, I should have been. But I was also relieved, sort of. That monster only took your body, not you."_

"But then," Hope hung his head, "why do I, remember?"

_"I don't know, but it doesn't matter."_ He barely heard Serah in the background silence, and Lightning mumbled something in return. _"Serah wants me to tell you that we love you, and that she knows how scared you were when you were...gone. You're not alone anymore."_

"Thanks." He felt Vanille's presence shift, and gave her a smile. She could only follow his half of the conversation, which wasn't very positive. "Hey, could you tell Snow to call us later?"

_"Sure. Say hi to Vanille for me."_

"I will. Love you guys, too." With that, Hope very abruptly ended their conversation. He felt bad, but the topic made him uncomfortable. He wasn't sure about any of his supposed "memories", or why he had them. He knew it must be hard for Lightning as well, and that it was probably something they two of them should work out together, but not over the phone.

"So, what was that all about?" Vanille asked.

"Light and I were just talking about...you know." Hope replied. "She says hi, by the way."

"That's nice of her." Something in her face softened, and she said, "You know, you can talk to me about that if you'd like. Lightning told us her part of the story, so I know what you went through now."

"Ah, that was just the same old stuff." Hope deflected. "After all, I'm not the one who heard the dead. What was that like?"

Vanille switched to sitting criss-cross, and twisted her hands in her lap. "It was horrible, and lonely. I could feel all of their pain and regrets. After Fang left me, it only got worse. I waited and waited, but she didn't come back."

"I'm sure she wanted to." Hope assured her.

"She did." Vanille smiled one of her brilliant smiles. "As much as I wanted her to return, though, I really wanted to see you."

"M-me?"

Vanille blushed, just as he most assuredly was. "Y-you always had the answers, and... Well, I missed you. You're such a great friend, and I needed you just as much as I needed Fang. But no one had seen or heard from you in almost two centuries."

Hope sighed. "Yeah, well, the whole time, I was in the one place no one would ever, or could ever look. If I could've left, Vanille, I would have. But I couldn't, and I didn't want to. I wasn't me."

Vanille slipped off of the bed and gave him one of her hugs. It somehow felt different that it had when he was younger, but he didn't want to think about it. His arms embraced her without permission, and she pressed closer to him. He could've sworn he felt her heart race.

They remained as they were for what in reality was a lot less time than if felt like. Neither spoke, neither moved. They just...hugged.

The sudden shout from another guest in the hallway was what finally broke them apart. Before once more becoming her own entity, Vanille whispered in his ear, "This is you."

Hope's heart stopped for a few beats, but Vanille kept right on going. Just like her. "So," she said, "how about we go get something to eat?"

* * *

The suggestion of food was a great distraction, and they still had about two hours to kill by the time Vanille had taken a shower. Together they looked up good places to eat around the town. However, nothing really appealed to them, or appealed to one and not the other. They ended up just going to an ice cream shop they'd seen on the way to find Noel.

The flavors they chose were pretty generic, but never let it be said that they weren't good. Hope went with simple chocolate, and Vanille chose vanilla. He teased her several times about how close the flavor sounded to her name, but she took his jabs in stride, offering only a sassy smirk in response.

They took a cab to Noel and Yeul's. It was about ten minutes away, not too terribly far. Vanille talked the whole time, saying that Serah's told her all about Noel and their adventures but of course Hope already knew all of that. She asked him if he'd known him well.

"Not as well as I should, or as I would like." Hope admitted. "I was more concerned with stopping Cocoon from falling, and with getting you and Fang out, than paying attention to him."

"Well that's understandable." Vanille replied. "But now you have the chance, right?"

"Yeah."

The cab jerked to a halt. "Here's your stop." The driver called from the front. Hope paid the cabbie what he was due, and he drove off.

Noel and Yeul lived in a quiet little house, next to many other quiet little houses. It was painted a simple white, and looked cared for. Yeul had some flowers growing in a small garden to the left of the door, and the lights were on inside.

Vanille went ahead to knock on the door, with Hope following close behind. She knocked three times, and then rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet until the door opened.

Yeul gave a huge smile. "Hello!"

"Hi!" Vanille said, trapping the smaller girl in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I could say the same about you." Yeul replied. "I know I've never actually met either of you, but I feel like I've known you for forever."

Vanille let her go. "Well now you can know us for real."

"Hey guys." Noel came up behind Yeul. He slipped an arm around her waist and smiled.

"Hey." Hope greeted him.

"Well are you going to be strangers or are you going to come in?" He teased.

"I don't know, it's pretty nice out here." Hope joked.

"Okay then. Come on in, Vanille."

"Come on, guys..."

The three of them retreated into the house, shutting Hope out. Vanille held the door shut, sticking her tongue out at him childishly from the other side of the door. He made a face at her and tried to get in, but she wouldn't let him.

He laughed. He just laughed. This was ridiculous. But it was amazing that they had the opportunity to be ridiculous. As his laugh died into a chuckle, someone's dog barked somewhere down the street, and he was finally let inside.

The house was simple on the inside as well. The kitchen blended into the living room, with a table sitting somewhere in between. There was a hallway that led off to the left, likely leading to a bedroom and a bathroom and such. All in all, it was cleaner than Vanille's apartment, and the furniture actually matched, but it still felt lived in.

"Welcome to our humble abode." Noel said theatrically.

"Hell of a lot better than my place, that's for sure." Hope told him.

"Yeul keeps it clean. If it was just me, you probably could've tracked me down by my stench."

Yeul elbowed him. "Whatever. You do just as much as I do."

"Only because you make me."

The whole group burst into laughter, even Yeul. Hope didn't think he'd ever seen Noel do anything more positive than a vaguely aimed scowl. Being reunited with his Yeul seemed to have coaxed out his happier self.

They gathered on the couch and chairs and began to catch up. Noel and Yeul explained how they hadn't been split up since Caius had allowed them both to live again. They'd been reborn together, and had been figuring out their new lives side by side ever since. Vanille told them of her experience, and Hope gave them the short version of his story.

As time passed, the humid air became thicker, and more uncomfortable. They simply dealt with it, until finally Noel couldn't take it anymore.

"Hope, could you switch on that fan?"

"Sure."

Hope reached back for the obvious dial, but found that there were two more. Not sure which one to turn, it took him entirely too long to figure out the fan.

"Our primitive technology is a bit too advanced for you, eh Director?" Noel teased.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

* * *

**Fin.**

**Okay, maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought.**

**"He knew it must be hard for Lightning as well, and that it was probably something the two of them should work out together..." FORESHADOWING?**

**Anywhoodle, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated. ^_^**


End file.
